APPENDIX 16
Letter from the Parliamentary Relations
Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Committee on
the Arms Embargo on Nigeria
The answers to the questions you raised are
as follows:
In accordance with long-standing convention,
the Government does not identify the source of the legal advice
given to Ministers. The position with regard to the provision
of legal advice is as set out in my letter of 26 November.
The export licence to which you refer in paragraph
3 of your letter was for three armoured Land Rovers for use by
the Central Bank of Nigeria for the escort of currency. Parliament
were informed of the issue of the licence by means of a written
PQ on 19 November 1998 (copy below). The licence was granted to
permit a civilian end-user to meet legitimate security needs and
was consistent with the purpose of the embargo.
25 January 2000
Nigeria
Mr Tony Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State
for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement
on the UK's arms embargo on Nigeria. [60835]
Mr Tony Lloyd: We will continue to implement
rigorously the EU arms embargo against Nigeria. The UK interprets
this as covering all goods and technology on the UK Military List
which forms Part III to Schedule 1 to the Export of Goods Order
1994, as amended.
Following consultations with this Department
and the Ministry of Defence, the Department of Trade and Industry
recently approved, as an exception, a licence for the export of
three military listed protected vehicles for use by the Central
Bank of Nigeria for the escort of currency. This licence is being
granted to permit a civilian end user to meet legitimate security
needs and is consistent with the purpose of the embargo.
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